Odd Man Out
by Snake of the Rose
Summary: Discontinued for now due to lack of quality.
1. Jeffery Comes To Town

**When Crazy Comes To Town**

_by The Shredder_

An intro….well, it starts out like any normal Animal Crossing game. You meet Rover, become his friend, he sets you up, etc. Well, this happens to be about a boy named Jeffery, who has just came into town and isn't the most popular. He manages to befriend a laid-back squirrel, Adam, a dark, gothic girl cat, Jade, and a timid, younger wolf boy who always wears a beanie and rarely talks, Eddie. So let's follow Jeffrey into town, shall we?

Note THIS WILL BE CONSTANLTY UPDATED AND ADDED TO! So if you have read this story, make sure to come back daily to check for additions. This will depict Jeffrey's entire life in his new town. It will have some language in it later on, hence the T rating.

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The young boy sighed as he looked out the window, gazing upon the many trees zooming past him. It reminded him of home, when he grew up at his grandparents house with his whole family. He loved it there. They had a big orchard, two houses on one property, and a gorgeous swimming pool, even with a slide. He sighed again as he remembered it was his time to make a change in the world.

The train ride was sure taking awhile. It made him seem like he bought a ticket to nowhere, as if he was going to stay on this vehicle his entire life. The only other movement on the train was a sleeping sow, who looked like she had a bag of turnips beside her.

He was dozing off when he heard the door to the outside shut. He looked up and saw a blue cat, who was looking around, probably for a place to sit. The cat looked at him and smiled, and began walking toward the boy.

"Oh no," the boy thought. "What am I gonna say? What am I gonna do? Mom never told me how to introduce myself to anyone!"

The cat had approached him already. It spoke.

"Umm... Mind if I sit here? It's more fun traveling in pairs, or so they say, right? I promise, I'm not crazy!"

The boy gawked at him. "Oh no, oh NO!" he thought. "Just play it cool, you can do it."

"Please!" he sputtered, almost spraying the cat with saliva.

The cat sat down in front of him.

"Thanks again! It sure is nice meeting friendly folk on the train..."

The boy sighed in relief. Perhaps it wasn't going to be SO bad after all.

The cat looked at him strangely. "You aren't a psycho, right?" The cat gazed at him.

He panicked. "Uh..uh.."

The cat laughed. "Bahaha! Just kidding!"

The boy sighed in relief again.

The cat laughed again. "Sorry bout that, my humor's sort of dry...what's your name, pal?"

"Uh...Jeffery."

The cat made some funny faces, trying to say his name. "Hrmm... Well... Hrmmm... Jeffery... Now THAT is an odd name!"

The cat meowed in laughter as Jeffrey sank ito his chair, embarrassed.

"Not that my opinion means much. I mean, look at me, I'm a cat, and my name's Rover!" He laughed again. That made Jeffery feel a bit better.

Rover noticed Jeffrey sinking in his chair. "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I say it was odd? It's not odd! It's uh..." He stopped, and Jeffery looked at him.

"It's a...really...great name!" Rover finished.

It was official, Jeffery felt bad.

"You know.." Rover started suddenly, "I was behind you in line when you bought your ticket. Now I wasn't eavesdropping, per se...but I think I heard you're going to Darsinae?"

Jeffery nodded slowly. Boy, this guy was weird, but it WAS better then sitting alone.

Rover laughed. "Awesome! Darsinae is one of my favorite vacation spots. Why are you going there, Jeffery?"

"I'm uh...moving..." he said quietly.

"Oh myah?" Rover meowed. You're moving? What fun! Moving's always an adventure!"

Jeffery nodded, but was totally disagreeing with him in his mind. He didn't WANT to leave home. But now he was stuck, facing fate.

"Sayyy..." Rover said slyly. "Do you know where you're going to be living?"

Jeffery sat up quickly! "Oh NO-" He stopped quickly, he didn't want to get Rover suspicious. He hadn't though about a place to live at all! What a dunce!

"Uh..uh...I don't know yet." Jeffery looked away in shame.

"WHAT?!? You haven't decided!?" Rover exclaimed. Jeffery slowly shook his head no.

"Oh man, it looks like we have to find you a place to live!"

"Ah, no, it's ok Rover, I-"

"No no! I insist! It's the least I can do! I DO know a pal of mine that runs a shop up in Darsinae...I'm gonna give him a call! Stay here!"

Rover ran to the back of the train before Jeffery could say anything. Rover took out his cellphone, dialed, and waitied patiently for an answer.

Jeffery looked down at him, and noticed he was talking to someone. He felt bad. It was great he had met this cool guy, but Rover was doing a little much for him. Still, Jeffery couldn't change Rover's mind, so he decided he should accept what Rover was doing for him. Before Jeffery could think any farther, Rover came back with a grin on his face, and it lifted Jeffery's spirits.

"What did he say?" Jeffery asked as Rover sat back down.

"Good news for you! My buddy has houses for sale, dirt-cheap! The work's done on 'em and everything! You have got yourself one heck of a deal, my friend."

"That's great!" Jeffery smiled.

"Yeah, except...uh...you got money, right?" Rover asked him.

Jeffery pulled out a large sack of currency, called Bells. "Sure do," he said.

Rover smiled at him and the big sack of money. "Then you'll be just fine! I remember when-"

TOOOOOOT!! TOOOOOT!

The train began to slow. A squeaky voice shot over the intercom.

"All passenegers headed fro Darsinae, please grab your luggage, we have arrived."

"Looks like we part trails here, buddy," Rover said somewhat sadly.

Jeffery looked at him frowning. "You're not coming, Rover? But-"

"Sorry, pal. I have places to go, people to see...But hey, next time you're on the train, look for me!" He escorted Jeffery off the train quickly.

"Happy trails, buddy!" Rover waved out the window. "Good luck to you!"

"Thank you for everything Rover!" Jeffery waved to him as the train sped off. Rover shouted something, but it was too incoherent to hear.

Jeffrey watched his friend fade off into the distance. He was all alone now, in a strange new town. Jeffery sighed again.

"Back to square one..."

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	2. Nook's Deal

Jeffery walked down the steps of the train station, not even wanting to look up. What was the use? He was just going to be an outcast anywa-

"Excuse me! Hey, Hey! You there!" Someone shouted to him, cutting off his thoughts.

Jeffery looked up, only to see a brown blur rushing at him in the distance. Jeffery squinted to get a closer look, but when his vision set in, the blur wasn't stopping.

"Whoa, WHOA! I can't stop! Look out!"

Before Jeffery could act, what appeared to be a large raccoon smashed into him and sent him flying. Jeffery hit the ground hard.

"Bah, stupid, fat body...Excuse me sir!" The raccoon rushed over to Jeffery, who was spraweld in the dirt, and helped him up. "Would your name happen to be Jeffery?"

Dazed, Jeffery nodded slowly, brushing the dirt off of himself.

"Good, Good! Adam! Cue!"

TWEEEEEEEET! A birthday buzzer went off next to Jeremy's ear, startling him. He turned to see a light-blue squirrel blowing it. The squirell didn't seem very happy about his job, his eyes were half-shut as if he was bored.

The raccoon laughed. "Thank you, Adam. Oh, Jeffery, this fine young man is going to be your neighbor. Go on, intoduce yourself." The raccoon scooted the squirrel in front of Jeffery. Jeffery looked at them strangely and warily stuck out his hand. The squirrel just sat there, eyes glazed.

"Adam. Shake his hand," the raccoon urged, showing a hint of annoyance.

Adam wobbled.

"No, no! Shake hands!"

Adam sighed and stuck out his hand, and Jeffery shook it.

The raccoon faked a laugh. "I suppose you'd like to see where you're living now, hm?" he asked. "Well, follow me, this way."

The raccoon led the two down an acre, and into a lot with 4 pitiful looking houses in it, all facing the center towards an old bulletin board.

Jeffery leaned toward Adam and asked him quietly, "Who is this guy?"

The squirrell just looked ahead, and without changing his expression, and said "Dude...I'm just Adam...Okay?"

Jeffery looked forward, offended, and his question unanswered. "Whatever..."

"Now," the raccoon started. "My name is Tom. Er, Tom Nook. I uh, run the shop here in Darsinae. I believe my associate Rover told me that you needed a house?"

"Yes," Jeffery said. "I need a place to stay."

Nook laughed. "Wonderful! Well, I can heartily recommend any of these houses! Take your pick!" Nook waved his hands toward the houses.

Jeffery looked at the sad shacks sitting around him. He grimaced, but this was as good as it was going to get, and he wasn't complaining. He went to the top left hand corner house first, and looked inside. He frowned in discomfort.

The walls were shantily covered in what looked like tin roofing, the floors were squeaky and moldy, there was a beaten old box with a book on top of it in one corner, and a broken down, dusty tape deck in the other. Jeffery hated it, but he still needed a place to stay. So, with all the courage he could muster, he went back outside to Tom Nook and Adam (and fresh air) and said, "I'll take it!"

Nook laughed, and took no time in preparing the paperwork and legal issues for Jeffery to sign. Adam sat back and watched, with that little glazed look in his half shut eyes. Jeffery must've signed 20 sheets of paper before Nook approved.

"Alrighty then, Jeffery, my fine fellow, this house now belongs to you! Adam, will you do the honors?"

Adam sighed and pulled out a piece of paper and blankly read:

"Thank you dear customer for purchasing this fine home! We at Nook's Cranny are pleased to announce this event, and in celebration, we'd like to throw in the furniture for FREE!" Adam didn't try to emphasize the words. "There are responsibilities with this new home, though, and monthly rent will come to 1,250 Bells. We hope you'll visit our corporation again, and-" Adam stopped, looked at the rest of the letter, and quickly said, "Blah blah blah enjoy your new home. Can I go now, Nook?"

Tom Nook sighed and shooed Adam away.

"Okay, Jeffery, to make a long story short, the house comes to...19,800 Bells!"

Jeffery pulled out his sack of money and gave it to the raccoon. Nook looked through the contents of the bag. "Yes..that would be...NOT NEARLY ENOUGH!" he exclaimed in shock. "You can't buy a house with this kind of money! That's insane! Ludicrous!"

Jeffery was shocked. "What?!" Jeffery SWORE his mom had packed him more money! He must've lost it somehow...unless...

"Rover!" Jeffery cursed under his breath. That must've been why Rover scooted him off the train so fast. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nook...I'll just go now.." Jeffery picked up his luggage and began to walk off.

Nook sadly looked down at the sack of money in his hands, and back to Jeffery. Nook sighed.

"Don't trot off now..." Nook called. "You can stay in the house. BUT, you must pay it off within a timely manner! If you do not, I will have you evicted."

Jeffery turned around. "What..? Really?"

"Uh...yes?"

Jeffery jumped in joy. "WOO HOO!" He stopped his celebrating when he realized something. "But how am I going to pay it off?" Jeffery stated. "I don't have a job!"

Nook thought for a moment. After a bit he clapped his hands together and smiled. "You can work for me, part time at my shop. Yes, that will work!" Nook smiled again. "That way you can have a place to stay, and you can work off your mortgage!" Nook laughed. "You should get some sleep though, it's awfully late for work now," Nook finished. Jeffery looked up at the sky to see the sun disappearing behind the horizon. He hadn't realized how dark it had gotten so fast.

"So will I be be able to count on you to be at my shop by 9 a.m.?" Nook said, raising an eyebrow.

Jeffery nodded. "Yes, sir!"

Nook smiled and patted his head. "Off I go. See you tomorrow, dear employee!" He chuckled at his joke as he walked off.

Jeffery stood outside for a moment, and then turned to look at his "home." He sighed and went inside.

No bed, no covers, no dignity. Jeffery laid down on the cold, gross floor and tried to get comfortable. He looked up at the ceiling, and thought about the day. His train ride, his first friend, who turned out to be a con, meeting these weird animals, and now his ugly new home.

"How could it get any worse..." he muttered.

He closed his eyes, and a few seconds later a piece of the ceiling fell on his face.

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	3. Jobs, Snobs, Sobs, and Doorknobs

**Brzzt**. _"I'm walk-"_ **Crrk.** _"on sunshi-"_ **Prkft.**

The old tape deck sprung to life suddenly, startling Jeffery. He opened his eyes, but his vision was blurry and his eyes were crusty. It must've been morning. Jeffery yawned. He got up slowly, and stumbled over to the tape deck, and tried to turn it off. He pressed all the buttons, and even unplugged it, but it continued to make an annoying crackle, and in the end, Jeffery kicked it, and the tape deck split into a few pieces. Jeffery wearily dragged himself to the door, and went outside.

It was a nice morning. It was cool, the birds were singing, and Jeffery swore he could hear the sound of a river. He stretched and yawned again, and decided he would take his first look around town. He went left an acre, and found a nicely sized house sitting by the bank of the river. Curiously, he peeked around the corner of the house to see if the occupant was outside. He was just turning the corner when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Jeffery jumped and turned around, only to find Adam.

"Um..morning!" Jeffery said qucikly.

Adam just gave him his glazed look. "What are you doing peeking around my house?" He said quietly.

Jeffery shifted his eyes from left to right. "Uh..Just seeing..what's up?"

Adam said nothing for awhile. Jeffery stared at him nervously. Adam spoke slowly.

"Okay," he said. "You can like, come in, if you want.."

Jeffery sighed in relief and followed Adam inside. Jeffery looked around inside the house. Surprisinlgy, it was neat and well-kept. Almost every item in the room was black and blue or black white in a checkered pattern, even the floor. Jeffery had seen this type of furniture before, it was the Modern set.

"Welcome to mi casa," Adam said blankly. "Make yourself at home. You want a...I dunno, soda or something?"

Jeffery sat down on a small couch and nodded. Adam sighed and opened an ice chest and pulled out two small colas. He handed one to Jeffery and sat down across from him.

"Uh..nice house," Jeffery said, trying to not be awkward.

Adam simply opened his cola and downed it quickly. He rubbed his temples as if he had a headache, but then he replied.

"Thanks," he said. "Grew it myself."

Jeffery laughed.

Adam coughed. "You can stay all day, but I'm not going to serve you lunch, I'm kinda low on food."

Jeffery stopped laughing. "Wait. Lunch? What time is it?"

"Uhh...11:30?"

Jeffery was already out the door, his soda can flying into Adam's hands.

Adam looked at the soda, and drank it all at once.

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Jeffery huffed and puffed, sprinting as fast as he could. "How could I forget?" He shouted at himself as he zoomed past his house. "I'm dead when Nook sees me!"

Jeffery quickly ran an acre above his house and looked at the bulletin board in front of the train station. The map said "Nook's Cranny, Acre A-4."

Jeffery looked to his right, and saw the little store. He ran to it, and without notice, exploded into the aisles. He fell over from trying to stop so fast, and succeeded in knocking down a stand of chips. The curious Tom Nook looked over him.

"Jeffery?" he asked.

Jeffery mumbled. "Sadly," he said. He picked the chip stand off of him up and put it back into place.

Nook lowered his eyebrows. "You're late," he said. "I was wondering if you were going to show."

Jeffery looked down at the floor, shamed.

Surprsingly, Nook laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay," he said. "When I had my first job, I was late the first day too."

Jeffery forced a smile.

Nook finished laughing and handed Jeffery a few bags of flowers and some small saplings. "Now," he started. "The area around my shop is dull, not charming at all. I'd like you to plant these flowers and trees around it, hmm? Be tasteful, I won't be the one that gets laughed at when folks from other towns see your work. Ho ho, no," he finished.

Jeffery looked at the task he had to do in his hands, and frowned. Planting flowers was girl stuff!

"Scoot now, I'll have more work when you're done."

Jeffery sighed underneath his breath and stepped outside. He looked around for a place to plant. He looked over to the side of the shop, which was pretty bare. He set down his bags and began to dig holes. He opened the first bag of flowers, and planted some seeds.

"This isn't too bad," he thought. "At least I'm getting paid."

"Hey, freakshow!"

Jeffery turned around only to see the back of his eyelids again as a rotten, mushy apple hit him square in the temple. He fell over, clutching his head. He heard laughter, and looked up through dazed eyes to see three hoodlums laughing hysterically.

"Whatcha doin' there, weirdo? Plantin' flowers for your boyfriend Tom?" Jeffery looked up to see it was a wolf towering over him with a snarl on his face. Jeffery scooted backwards in fear.

"Aw, look at him run, Wolfgang! I think you hurt his feelings," another mocked. Jeffery looked around the wolf to see a devious-looking penguin laughing at him.

"Quiet, Hopper! He's my meat." Wolfgang lowered to eye level with Jeffery. "We don't appreciate losers around here, meatbag! If you're going be planting flowers like this all the time, I'd guess I'd better rough you up now and teach you a lesson, eh?"

Jeffery looked up in fear and stuttered incoherently.

"Whassa matter? Cat got your tongue?" Hopper shot.

Wolfgang and Hopper laughed. The other one, who was standing behind them, did not. The other one watched as Wolfgang kicked dirt at Jeffery and Hopper ripped up his bags of flowers. Then they both left, howling with laughter. The other one looked over to see Jeffery curled up, sniffling. He walked over to him.

Jeffery noticed through his wet eyes another wolf trotting up to him. The wolf looked young, and wore a gray beanie. As he got closer, Jeffery said, "Go away."

The wolf said nothing, except kneel beside him by the pile of flower seeds. Jeffery looked through the corner of his eyes to see the wolf plant all the flowers evenly and gracefully. Jeffery turned in amazement, and the wolf looked at him.

"Brother is a jerk," the wolf said quietly. "He make fun of everyone."

Jeffery wiped his nose. "That guy is your brother?"

"Yes. He was Mom's favorite." the wolf patted down the dirt where he planted the flowers and helped Jeffery up.

Jeffery sniffled. "Thanks," he said. "What's your name?"

"Eddie." the wolf replied.

Jeffery nodded and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"EDDIE!" shouted Wolfgang from afar. "Come on! Get away before you catch the loser disease!"

Eddie looked at Jeffey. "You go back to work now."

Jeffery nodded, and watched as Eddie scampered off. He stood outside for a moment and wiped the dirt off himself and went back inside. He found Tom Nook dozing behind the counter.

"Uh...sir?"

Nook snored a bubble out of his nose, and when it popped, he awoke, startled.

"Huh?" He looked around. "Oh. Jeffery. Right. Did you plant the flowers?"

Jeffery nodded. He didn't tell Nook about what went on outside, he was afraid Nook would tattle.

The raccoon stretched. "Alright," he muttered, and reached inside his counter to pull out a grayish-green shirt. "This is your uniform. Change quickly, alright?" Nook yawned.

Jeffery nodded and replaced his shirt qucikly. He looked down on his uniform, which had a neat looking insignia of a leaf on it.

"Okay. Well, your next job is going to be to deliver this carpet to fellow named Goose, okay? He lives in Acre C-3. Get to it," Nook said.

Jeffery picked up the carpet with some effort. "Yes, sir," he said on the way out.

Jeffery stumbled out of the store. The carpet was awfully heavy. All he hoped for is that he didn't see Wolfgang or Hopper on the way there. So, to play it safe, he passed by his house and went down an acre. There was another house by the river here, and as Jeffery struggled to look around the carpet, he could've swore he heard clanking. He trudged to the front door and knocked, and he heard the clanking again, only it was one BIG clank, and a painful yell followed it. He heard cursing from inside, and the front door flew open. "WHADDYA WANT?!" the owner yelled.

Jeffery's eyes were wide in shock. "Um...are you Goose?" he asked nervously.

The chicken frowned. "Yes."

"Uh...carpet delivery from Tom Nook." Jeffery gave him the carpet.

Goose looked at the carpet. "Oh wow! It's my new edition ranch flooring! Ha! This makes everything better! Thank you. What's your name? You look new."

"My name's Jeffery."

"Just move to town?" Goose asked. Jeffery nodded.

Goose chuckled. "Well thank you for delivering my carpet. Sorry for snapping at you earlier, I dropped weights on my foot...Here, take my old carpet as an apology. I've seen Nook's houses, you should use this."

Jeffery was handed yet another carpet. "Uh..thank you!" He said as he walked off.

"No problem!" Goose shouted to him.

Jeffery wasn't going to lug this around all day. He was going to go lay it out now. He stopped by his house, and threw out the carpet. It was decent, much better then his old flooring. It had a few stains on it, but it was still a carpet. Jeffery smiled in approval and hurried back to Tom Nook's shop.

When he arrived, Tom was sweeping his floor. "Jeffery! You're back."

Jeffery nodded. "Goose wasa nice guy. He gave me a carpet."

Nook laughed and swept. "All the animals are fairly generous around here. None of your work goes much unrewarded. Speaking of which, your little chores have earned you about 600 Bells off of your mortgage. But, the next thing I want you to to do is write a letter...you know, personal advertising," Nook continued. "I want you to send it to my valued customer Jade, who lives in Acre C-1, I believe? Just tell her a sale's going on, you know..." Nook rambled. "When you're done writing it, give it to the post office. Acre A-1. Here's some stationery and a pen."

Jeffery nodded and took the items. He went to the far corner of the store, sat down, and began to write. He wrote:

Hello, Jade

My name is Jeffery, and I just moved to town. I work

for Tom Nook, and he would like to announce that

he is having a special sale going on in a few days and

he would like you to come!

We hope to see you soon,

Jeffery

Jeffery smiled and sealed his envelope. He was confident about this letter. It felt like he was saying all the right things. He got up out of the corner and went to deliver the letter.

He was walking past the train station when he heard a cry. He looked around nervously, wondering if it was Wolfgang and Hopper out to get him again. He waited a moment, then continued walking, looking behind his back ever few seconds, feeling like a crackhead. He was an acre away from the post office, when something rustled in a tree next to him. He yelled in surprise and backed up slowly. He looked at the tree closely, and it rustled again. Jeffery didn't want to be a wimp. So, he put a mean look on his face and marched up to the tree.

"Is anyone there?" he whispered.

"Get down!" said the tree.

Jeffery looked up, mouth agape. He did what he was told. From where he was hiding, he could hear voices...and it sounded like Wolfgang and Hopper! He listened closely.

"You're little brother is so gullible," said Hopper, snickering.

"I know," Wolfgang told him. I can't believe he actually believed us when we said there were Bells growing in that bee hive."

Jeffery listened more intently. What had they done to Eddie?

"Oh well," Wolfgang said. "Let's go to your house. I'm hungry."

Jeffery listened to Wolfgang and Hopper walk away. He stood up when the coast was clear, and, completely forgetting about the talking tree, he turned around and saw Adam hanging form it's branches.

"Adam? What are you doing up there?"

Adam pointed to a branch next to him, where Eddie was sitting and crying, holding his badly stung hands together.

Jeffery looked up at him, saddened. "What did they do to you, Eddie?"

Eddie sniffled a bit. "Brother told me Bells grew in bee-hives, and I wanted to get Brother his favorite snack, because he said he was hungry. But bees were in bee-hive, not Bells, and now Brother won't like me anymore because I didn't get him his favorite snack!" Eddie began to sob.

Jeffery frowned sadly. "Here, buddy." He held his arms up to help Eddie down.

"He's going to stay with me tonight," Adam said. "Wolfgang is too mean to him."

Jeffery nodded.

"Can Jeffery come too?" Eddie asked, his eyes gleaming with tears.

Adam looked around. "Sure.." he said quietly.

Jeffery nodded again. "I'll have to finish work first, then I'll be over," he said. "Thanks for taking care of him, Adam."

Adam nodded. "I usually do."

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Jeffery said as he ran off to mail the letter. Adam and Eddie waved and walked towards Adam's house.

Jeffery walked into the post office, and gave the nice pelican lady at the desk his letter. Then he trotted off to Nook's as quickly as he could.

When he walked back into the store, Nook was tapping his foot. "Took you long enough," he snapped. "I'll have to dock you a bit, but not much." Nook rang up a few numbers on his cash register. "You get that letter mailed safe?"

Jeffery nodded.

"'Kay. Well, your next task is to deliver this fine cabana bed, hm? Deliver it to Hopper, who lives in Acre D-2."

Jeffery froze.

"...Jeffery?" Nook waved at him.

Jeffery looked at him, his eyes wide. "Y-Y-Yes, sir..." he said quietly.

Nook looked at him strangely. "Here's the bed." Nook handed him a leaf.

"Uh, sir, this is a leaf," Jeffery stated.

Nook laughed. "Whoa ho ho! No, that is indeed the bed. Watch, drop the leaf on the ground."

Jeffery gave him a strange look, and let the leaf fall. Slowly, slowly, slowly it fell, and when it hit the ground, POOF! Instant cabana bed.

Jeffery gazed at it in amazement. "What?! How?!" he stammered.

Nook was about dying from laughter. "It's a raccoon trade secret, boy! Now pick it up and deliver it!" Nook couldn't stop laughing.

The bed looked heavy. But when Jeffery pulled it, it turned back into a leaf, and fit snug in his pocket. Jeffery just shook his head as he left the store and Nook, who was still laughing hysterically.

Jeffery gulped. He was afraid. Both Wolfgang and Hopper were at Hopper's house now, probably devising some twisted trick to play on Jeffery! Goose waved to Jeffery as Jeffery went down the hill into the lower acres, but Jeffery kept his head low, as if he was next in the gallows. Jeffery prayed to every god he could as he approached the doorstep. It seemed like it took years for him to knock. When he did, he felt like each little tap was like a thousand bombs going off at once. He winced, thinking of the punishment that would surely be dealt to him.

"Can I help you, chump?" Hopper asked him.

Jeffery gasped, he didn't notice Hopper had opened the door.

"Uh, uh, uh, I uh, have a um...cabana bed for you from um...Tom Nook?" Jeffery held out the leaf quickly. Hopper looked down at it.

"I didn't order a bed," he said. "Nook's smoking something."

Jeffery was going to die from the suspense. "But-but-but it says here.." Jeffery weakly pointed to the delivery address.

"Just keep it, I don't want it."

After saying that, Hopper closed the door. Jeffery stood there, his eyes about rolled to the back of his head in astonishment. He wasn't dead! Or even seriously injured! AND he had gotten a free bed! He jumped in joy and ran back to his house to drop off his bed. Things were DEFINITELY looking better.

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Jeffery about skipped the rest of the way to Nook's store. He was cheery as he walked in, and even greeted Nook with a "Hello, good sir!" Nook just gave him a look and handed him what appeared to be a wrapped axe.

"Now BE CAREFUL with this," Nook told him. "I need you to deliver that to Jade, and you already know where she lives, hm? This is going to be your last job, so make it worth it."

Jeffery held the axe in his hands, and nodded. He left the store and headed for Acre C-1.

The walk to Jade's was different. The trees began losing color, and the ground seemed darker. The wildlife even seemed darker, as a crow flew overhead. As Jeffery stood in front of Jade's house, he had a strange sense of...bad. The dead trees around Jade's house seemed to reach for Jeffery as he rang the skull-shaped doorbell. There was silence for awhile, and then the door slowly opened.

A black cat with huge, dark yellow eyes in a nightgown answered. "May I help you?" she said lowly as Jeffery was overcome with the smell of incense.

"Uh, delivery from Tom Nook," he said as he handed her the wrapped axe. She unwrapped it, and smiled. "I've been waiting for this for awhile," she said. "Please, come in. It's always good meeting new faces."

Jade led Jeffery through the door. Her house was very dark, and most everything in the room was either black or red. There were chains and fake skulls and drawings laying about, and most oddly, a circle of doorknobs in the middle of the room. Jade slipped ahead of him and turned around, a smile on her face as she looked at him. Jeffery just looked down, strangely. "Did you..." she started, as she pulled a note out of her pocket, "Send me this letter, by chance?" She held it up in front of Jeffery's face. Yep, it was his.

Jeffery nodded. "Yeah, why?"

Jade shook her head. "Just sweet of you. Normally Nook harasses me with stupid deals like this because I shop there alot, but his letters were nothing but numbers and fake excitement." She smiled. "So it was nice to have some actual emotion in a letter for once."

Jeffery showed a weak smile. "If you don't mind me asking, um...what's with the doorknobs?"

Jade looked behind. "Oh. Those. Come here, watch."

She skipped over to the circle of doorknobs and sat in the middle. Jeffery sat down outside of the circle, and watched her as she picked up a doorknob, and opened it.

"I carve out doorknobs and put things in them, see?" She held out the doorknob she had just opened, which was full of little charms.

"Whoa...That's neat!" Jeffery said quietly.

Jade smiled. "Just a hobby."

Jeffery smiled and got up. "I have to get back to work," he said, "But hey, I'll see you around."

"Okay!" Jade got up and hugged him. "Nice meeting you."

Jeffery shut the door on his way out and ran all the way back to Nook's.

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Jeffery was out of breath as he walked back in the store. Nook greeted him with a hearty handshake.

"Congratulations, dear employee! You have now finished all the work I hadn't gotten around to lately!" Nook smiled and danced. Jeffery watched him and asked, "What about my mortgage?"

Nook stopped dancing. "Well, you still have to pay ALL of it off, that's how it works, my boy. But the chores you did today brought you down to about...17,800 Bells left to pay. Finding money will be your problem now. But 1,000 bells a week is good with me. Otherwise, I'll send for the raccoon goons!" Nook laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

Jeffery took off his uniform and put his regular shirt back on. Nook told him to keep he uniform as a "memoir."

It had gotten late quick. It was about dusk when Jeffery reached Adam's house.

He walked in to see Adam deep into gameplay on a SNES system, and Eddie watching him gleefully as he held his hands in a bag of ice.

"Hey fellas, I'm done with work."

"Get the hammer, come on, come on...DOH! Stupid barrell!" Adam cursed at his game.

Jeffery grabbed a soda from the ice chest and sat down next to them.

"Hi Jeffery," Eddie said without looking at him.

"Hey Eddie, hey Adam."

Adam grunted as he continued to play. Jeffery sat back on the couch comfortably and popped open his soda. As he drank, he felt...at home.


	4. It's Too Weird To Be

_"Uhn...Hello?...Hey!! I'm surprised you called me this late. What's the occasion, sweetie? I've missed you, you know...Yeah...Yeah I know her, she's my best friend down there...Huh?...You WHAT?! But...I thought...Don't hang up on me!"_

Eddie was asleep soundly, and Adam was snug in his bed, a collection of empty soda cans around him. The night was almost over, in that dark state just before dawn. Jeffery lay slumped on the floor, sleepless. _Too much soda,_ he thought, remembering nights back at home when his mother would gripe at him for staying up so lat, watching zombie movies and eating all of the snakcs and such. It had been a pretty fun night, with all the snacks and video games, and the occasional times one of them would pass out and they would draw and mess with each other. Jeffery thought about going home, even at the early hour before him. He slowly sat up, soda cans and crumbs falling off of him. He got up, onlt to sit down quickly on the couch where Eddie was sleeping. He would get head rushes from time to time whenever he would get up after sitting or laying for long periods of time. The blood would rush to his head, his eyesight would go blurry and he would get dizzy and usually fall down. He shook it off the best he could, and noticing the blankets on the ground, he tucked Eddie back in.

He squinted his eyes as he stepped out into the fading dark world, the river quietly running ahead of him. He shut the door quietly, trying not to disturb anyone. The world looked peaceful, shimmering in the dim sunlight that was just peeking over the edge of the horizon. It made Jeffery smile. It was too nice of a morning to be sleeping. He walked down to the river and looked in the brisk water into his own reflection. He knelt down and splashed some water on his face to wake him up (and to wash it, considering the food stains on the corner of his mouth).

He walked on the bank of the river, listening to the clear water flow soothingly. He followed it downstream aways past Jade's house. The water began to move faster, and Jeffery almost walked upon (and off) the waterfall that connected the river down to the lower acres.

"Whoaa." Jeffery looked at the beautiful sight before him. The water shot off the cliff in a magnificent manner, gleaming in the newborn sunlight.

He sat down next to the edge of the waterfall, leaning on his hands. He smiled brightly upon the day dawning before him. Until he heard...sniffling?

Jeffery looked around. "Hello?"

The sniffling continued, coming from his right. Jeffery got up to investigate. He followed the sniffling to a tree, and knowing the last incident with a tree, he looked up, and found a crying Jade.

"Jade?" asked Jeffery, slightly worried. "What are you doing up so early?"

She sniffled. "Why do you have a chip bag on your head?"

Jeffery felt his head. Indeed, there was an empty chip bag caught on his hat. He shoved it in his pocket and shifted his expression. "Well, why are you in a tree?"

She wiped her nose. "So..I can watch the sunrise..." her voice trailed off.

"Why are you crying?"

"...Allergies..."

Jeffery wasn't convinced. "Come on Jade, you know that was the lamest excuse ever."

She surpressed a light giggle. Jeffery was right. "Come up here and I'll tell you."

Jeffery climbed up the trunk of the tree with some effort, and sat on a branch acorss from her. There WAS a nice view from up here.

Jade twirled her paws. "Well, I got a call from my boyfriend this morning, and apparently he had been at a party, which he never told me about..."

Jeffery nodded slowly. "And?"

Jade held her face in her hands. "He got drunk...and he was messing around, getting stupid... and he slept with my best friend!" She burst into tears.

Jeffery looked at her sadly. She was sobbing hard, the tears leaking from her paws. He shifted over to her branch and sat next to her.

"It's okay," Jeffery started, not knowing completely what to say. "That guy's a jerk. If he respected your relationship with him he should'nt have done that."

Jade lifted her head slightly, but the tears still ran. Jeffery patted her on the back.

"You don't deserve a guy like that, Jade," he said to her.

Jade nodded and closed her eyes in heartfelt pain. "You're right," she said, the tears streaming. "He shouldn't have treated me that way. I don't need Rover."

Was he hearing things? Jeffery looked at her, shocked. "Rover?" he asked.

She nodded slowly. "I don't think you know him."

Now Jeffery was mad. First, Rover had stolen his money, and now he had broken Jade's heart! Boy, if he ever got his hands on him again...

"I know him," Jeffery said quietly, hiding his agitations.

Jade leaned on Jeffery suddenly, which startled him. "Thank you for talking to me," she muttered, looking ahead at the sunrise.

Jeffery looked down at her and noticed her tears had stopped, and she was smiling.. Jeffery patted her on the back again, and it turned into a hug.

"You're welcome."

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"Ugh...morning."

Adam stared up at his ceiling from his bed. He despised mornings, especially the ones after a party. He moaned.

Smoke drifted into eyesight, and the smell of breakfast danced on his snout.

Adam sat up, startled to see Jeffery and Eddie happily cooking. Adam sighed and flopped back down on his bed.

"What are you doing with my poor, defenseless kitchen?" he asked without much emotion.

Eddie spoke first. "Hungry! Here yours, Adam!"

Eddie passed Adam a steaming plate of eggs, bacon, and acorn pancakes. Adam looked down at his breakfast, and began to eat it slowly.

"You're awfully cheery," Adam told Jeffery with a mouthful of pancakes.

Jeffery turned off the stove and picked up his plate. He plopped on the couch and began to eat. "Yep," he said. "I feel like a million Bells!" He ate of forkful of eggs happily.

"Uh, why? It's like... morning..." Adam said sleepily.

"Jeffery be good friends with girl!" Eddie exclaimed, dropping his bacon.

Adam laughed a bit, spewing a bit of fod on his blanket. "Jeffery's got a lady-friend, huh?"

"I do not!" Jeffery denied. "She's just a friend."

Eddie poked him. "That not what I saw! Jade lean on you like she means business."

Jeffery glared at him.

"You and JADE?" Adam said, his plate of food already gone. "I thought she had a boyfriend."

"He cheated on her," Jeffery told him. "He was messing around with some girls at a party...And she's not my girlfriend! That'd be weird, animals and humans don't mix."

Adam dropped his plate in the sink. "What's that supposed to mean?" he joked.

Jeffery growled and finished eating.

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Jeffery left after awhile. Adam and Eddie had to go restock Adam's house; they had pretty much eaten everything.

Jeffery walked into his house. Nothing had changed, just a dank room with little furniture. He plopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, and began to think.

Jade's just my friend. I don't have any sort of relationship with her like that, and I never will. Come on, a human and a cat, as a couple? No way. But I don't have to worry. She'd never think of me as more than a friend. I'm a totally lame guy, I can't even stick up for myself. There's nothing to like about me. Averagely lame Jeffery. That's me, and I'll never change. She was just happy that I cheered her up, is all...

Jeffery sighed and rolled over, the lack of sleep getting to him.

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I updated it some. Look!

Sorry for the short chapter, everyone. I've been under stress lately with my family, so I apologize for its lateness.

Uh, thank you everyone that reviewed me! I appreciate it.

About Jade and Jeffery, I don't think it will get TOO personal. An animal and human couple WOULD be weird. But hey, it's the world of FanFiction, anything can happen.


	5. Serious Changes

**Personally, I thought this chapter was horrible, so I made some HUMONGOUS updates. Take a look. D**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Brzzt.** _"Why can't w-"_** Crrk.** _"be frien--"_** Prkft.**

**DING DONG!**

"Znn..Huh?" Jeffery rolled over and looked at the door, as if his mind was trying to answer it. His eyes opened widely quickly, and he sprang up to answer the door. He tripped and fell, and succeeded to hit his head on the floor. He groaned, got up, and anwered the door.

He opened it, his eyes glazed with weariness. And to his surprise,

"Jade? Uh..."

Jade smiled up at him. "Hi Jeffery!" she said cheerily. "How are you this...uh...afternoon?" She smiled weakly at that.

Jeffery looked behind him quickly. "Pretty good, um, sleeping...Why'd you drop by?"

She shook her head. "No reason. Just wanted to drop by."

Jeffery looked at her like he did this morning. "Alright, whatever you say...um...come on in."

Jeffery cleared the way and let Jade in. Jade looked above her, her hands held behind her back. Jeffery was slightly embarrassed because of the condition of his house, but mostly, it was the first time he had ever had a girl (besides family) in even the same room as him. He shut the door, and Jade walked over to his bed and plopped down on it. She smiled at the bounciness. Jeffery slowly made his way over to the bed, completely unsure of what to say.

"Uh, um...What's...up?" He stuttered.

Jade looked at him funny. "...Nothing...?" she replied, bouncing a bit less.

Jeffery had a quick mental battle. _Come on, doofus! It's just a GIRL. Talk to her, unless you WANT her to think you're a total dweeb! Pretend she's one of the guys. She won't bite._

"I hope," he mutterred.

"Huh?"

"Nothing! I uh...burped a little." _Doh!_ He slapped his head.

Jade giggled. "Weirdo."

Jeffery lowered his head. _Way to go, slick!_

Jade bounced up and off the bed. "Hey, I have some spare Bells...Why don't we head on down to Nook's and buy some stuff for your..er...house!"

Jeffery looked up. "Nah, that's okay, you don't have to do that, You keep your Bells and I'll-"

"Come on!" Jade had already grabbed his arm and led him out the door.

The door shut behind Jeffery as he stumbled out of Jade's grip and on to the concrete.

"Oopsie!" Jade put her hands up to her mouth.

Jeffery closed one eye and rubbed his head, and looked to the left to see Wolfgang and Hopper laughing at him from afar. Jeffery frowned and got back up, dusting himself off. Jade shook her head and smiled. "You're too clumsy. Come on." She skipped ahead of him playfully towards the store. Jeffery jogged to keep up with her.

Jade was thinking out loud. "We could get you a nice Blue set...and maybe a few bonsais, or maybe a Cabin set with an asteroid..."

Jeffery stopped her. "How about we just look for something that looks good?"

Jade shot him a look. "That's what I'm trying to do!"

Jeffery looked forward, and decided not to get in the middle of a girl's thoughts anymore.

-

Jade gabbed on for awhile, and soon enough they walked into Nook's store. They were greeted instantly.

"Jeffery! And valued-customer Jade! How are the both of you this fine day?" Nook exclaimed.

Jeffery was about to speak, but Jade put her hand over his mouth and spoke first. "We're looking for some things to...spice up Jeffery's house with."

Nook looked at them for a second, and then scooted over to his shelves, which held many an item. Nook raised a few leaves up. "How about a nice cube clock? Or maybe a fabulous watering trough? Or this _extravagant-_"

"Have any refridgerators?" Jeffery asked.

Nook paused for a moment, and scrounged through some things. He pulled out another leaf. "Here it is! The Moderator Kitchenator Refidgerator! Only...800 Bells!"

Jeffery's jaw dropped. "I don't think-"

"I'll TAKE IT!" Jade shot.

Jeffery stuttered. "But I-"

Jade put a finger on his lip. "You'll thank me." She smiled.

Jeffery sighed again. "How about an end table...and a lamp?"

"And a way to the checkout lane?"

Jeffery looked next to him to see Adam and Eddie, arms full of groceries. Jeffery stepped to the side quickly and let them through. Nook helped them quickly, and then returned to Jade and Jeffery with a big carnie-smile on his face.

Jeffery thought. "Wallpaper?"

"Ranch wallpaper... 1,256 Bells."

"Ring it up," Jade said.

-

-

-

The two walked out of the store, Jeffery's pockets bursting with furniture.

"I can't thank you enough, Jade...You're seriously helping me out here," Jeffery told her.

Jade waved to Adam and Eddie, who were passing by. "It's no problem," she said. "You need it, anyway. You wouldn't be happy without-"

"You?"

"Hm?"

_Crap! Uh..Uh.._"You...and your awesome interior decorating skills?" Jeffery faked a smile.

Jade blushed. "Aww, how sweet!"

Jeffery breathed out in relief.

Jade opened Jeffery's front door (which Jeffery was relieved to see so quickly). "Let's get started, then!" Jade told him. She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside, much like she had dragged him outside earlier. Jeffery tripped over his doorstep, and when he hit the ground, a leaf fell out of his pocket in front of him. Jeffery looked up, dazed, and when he tried to get up, he manged to hit his head on the underside of the end table that had just popped up. "Yowch!" He fell on the ground again, and Jade laughed at him.

"Nice one, smartypants!"

-

-

-

Interior decorating was alot harder than Jeffery thought it was. Putting furniture in the right place, making sure everything matched, making the wallpaper even...Mom made it look so easy, and Jeffery thought of home again...

Jade brushed her hands together. "Well! We did an awfully good job. Welocme to your new house, Jeffery!"

Jeffery took a look around. He had matching Ranch wallpaper and flooring, a stove, microwave, counters, a sink, a stocked refridgerator, a couch, a small television set, a bookcase with a few books and CD's, a lounge chair with an armoire, an end table with a lamp...Jeffery felt his heart lift. He felt accomplished. And it was all thanks to...

"Jade?"

"Yeah hun?"

"Thank you."

She smiled at him and hugged him. "I'm telling you, it's no problem."

"Can I repay you?"

Jade thought. "Hmm...Sure. Come with me."

She led Jeffery out of the house (this time careful not to trip) and towards her house.

"Where are we going?" Jeffery asked, Jade skipping ahead of him.

"Nowhere special. Just where I go to cool off, usually..."

Jeffery nodded. He had a new feeling inside of him, a feeling that wasn't afraid, or shy. He felt he had a new-found confidence, and it felt really good. He smiled as he thought to himself. He should've hung out with a girl years ago.

They walked by the edge of the cliff, only to hear whistling noises form below. Jeffery looked down to see Wolfgang and Hopper mocking him with arm gestures and puffing their chests up to look manly. Jeffery sighed and walked on.

It was sorta silent for a few acres. The surroundings were beginning to get darker, and soon all of the house were out of sight. Jeffery looked above him to see the forest had grown slightly thicker, and as they walked along, it became more and more secluded. It was peaceful, really.

"Hey Jeffery?" Jade asked, tugging on him.

"Yeah?"

"Why were Wolfgang on Hopper laughing?"

Jeffery looked ahead blankly. "Because they have nothing else better to do."

Jade sighed. "I'm being serious.

"I am too. I never said a word to them before, and the first time they saw me they pegged me with apples."

Jade shook her head. She began to walk ahead of him, towards a lone tree sitting in the middle of a green clearing.

"They were just picking on me, Jade..."

She plopped down, and crossed her arms. "They're still jerks. And I know Adam and Eddie are saying stuff too."

Jeffery shook his head. "No..."

"Don't lie to me, Jeffery..."

Jeffery sighed, and Jade spoke. "What did they say?"

Jeffery sat down next to her, his mouth scrunched up. "They thought...that we..."

"Yes?"

Jeffery sighed again. "they thought that we were...you know..." He pointed his fingers together. "A couple..."

Jade sunk her head in her knees. "Why...They..." she sniffled.

"They didn't mean anything," he told her. "Guys are guys...we're not all that great." Jeffery forced a smile at his lame joke.

Surprisingly, Jade giggled. "You got that right." She lifted her head and nudged his arm.

Jeffery laughed a little and poked her. "Don't be mean."

Jade _pff_ed. "I'm only telling the truth," she said. "You're not all you're cracked up to be, ya know..." she giggled.

"Well you know what?" Jeffery told her.

"What?"

Jeffery tickled her.

Jade laughed and squirmed. "Ahh! Quit it!" she squealed.

Jeffery laughed and continued. "Not until you take it back!"

"Never!" she said and rolled away from him.

Jeffery tried to tickle her as she got up, but he only fell on his chest, laughing. "You're gonna eat your words!"

He scrambled to his feet quickly and chased her. She avoided him easily, and practically ran circles around him. She ran behind the tree, giggling. Jeffery was stuck on the other side, and every time he tried to go to one side, she'd pop out of the other and evade him. "Can't catch me!" she yelled to him as she scampered into the forest.

"Aw Jade!" Jeffery yelled to her. "Don't cheat!"

She shouted something incoherent. Jeffery sighed and jogged after her.

He ran into the thick bushes and tripped immediately. He spat the leaves and dirt out of his mouth and continued to look for her.

"Jaaa-aade!" He called. "Come on!"

There was a giggle from one of the bushes. Jeffery looked around, to see that there were a circle of bushes around him. He smirked.

"You're in one of them," he said. "Aha!"

He dove into one of the bushes to find...thorns. He yelped and jumped back out, some of the thorns scratching him and making him bleed. "Ouch..."

He thought quickly. "Okay! you win! I give up! I'm going home." Jeffery turned around and began to walk away, and hearing the bushes rustle, he suddenly turned around, and standing there, surprised, was Jade. Jeffery poked her.

"Gotcha!"

She backed away from him, acting dramatic. "Oh, woe is me! The dreaded one has cornered me! But, how?" She threw her hand on her forehead.

Jeffery was surpressing laughs and responded. "It is because I am your-WHOA!!" He tripped suddenly, stumbled forward, and found himself on the ground, pressed against Jade.

Both of them widened their eyes and looked at each other. Jeffery quickly rolled off of her, and in a quick maneuver looked the opposite way and coughed.

"Uh...sorry about that," Jeffery mumbled.

Jade smiled, unseen. "It's okay..."

Jeffery shook off the awkwardness and sat with his back on a nearby tree. Jade skipped over to him, and sat by his side. She looked at him, smiling. Jeffery was looking down at the grass, obviously embarrassed. Jade poked his side.

"Don't worry about it," she giggled. "It was jsut an accident."

Jeffery smiled a bit. "I know, it's just.."

"Just what?"

Jeffery wrapped his arms around his knees. "The guys..." he muttered quietly.

Jade frowned and sighed. "It's not like the're watching us."

"Well, supposedly Eddie saw us this morning, in the tree..." Jeffery started. "He must've taken it the wrong way, he's young, after all..."

Jade looked at him, her golden eyes shining. "What are you embarrassed about then?"

Jeffery sighed and leaned back against the tree. "They...I...they picked on me..."

Jade looked at him still. "They were just kidding...at least that's what you told me earlier.." Jade said. "Don't worry about them, they're just..."

They both sighed. Jade suddenly leaned her head on Jeffery, and Jeffery got nervous again.

"I'm still glad that you talked to me this morning...you made me feel alot better..." Jade's voice became soft.

Jeffery's eyes looked in a different direction. "I'm glad you helped me too...I can actually LIVE now..."

Jade closed her eyes, smiling, and shook her head. "Jeffery..."

They felt the cool grass sliding underneath their fingers, as both of their hands came together.

Jade scooted closer to Jeffery, her head still leaned on his shoulder. Jeffery, the butterflies in his stomach practically throwing up, leaned his head on hers.

Jade smiled, and softly began to sing.

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"HOLY BUTT-MONKEYS!"

"Shut up! Don't let them hear you, feather-brain!"

Wolfgang and Hopper backed away from the bushes they were hiding in, both of them snickering.

"I can't believe that doofus got her to like him!" Hopper laughed quietly.

Wolfgang was sitting on the ground, holding back tears of laughter. He couldn't speak, and when he did, he sputtered saliva everywhere.

"I ah..hoo, oh boy..Bahaha! Hoo hoo...ah." Wolfgang got up, still holding in laughter. "We have to make sure everyone, and I mean EVERYONE knows about this, got it?" he demanded. "We can't let this chump's puppy love go unannounced!"

Hopper nodded. "This is going to be great!"

They both snuck off, Hopper accidentaly tripping on a root, Jeffery and Jade still completely unaware.

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Jade stopped singing. "Did you hear something?"

Jeffery's eyes were locked ahead, amazed. Her singing was wonderful. Her soothing voice almost rocked him to sleep.

"Huh? Oh..no."

Jade got up, still holding Jeffery's hand. Jeffery got up with her. She looked up at him, smiling. Jeffery yawned.

"Take me home," she told him, hugging his side.

Jeffery nodded, and they walked out of the forest, past the clearing, and back to her house.

Her hand was soft in his(and not just because of the fur). He looked at her through the corner of his eye, to see her looking down, a blush on her face. Jeffery looked ahead, smiling a little himself.

They walked up to her dark doorstep after a few minutes, and Jade stepped ahead of him and turned around.

"Thank you, Jeffery. I had fun today."

Jeffery nodded. "Me too."

Jade smiled and nodded.

"Well um...I guess I'll see you tomorrow..then?" Jeffery said nervously.

Jade hugged him. "Okay, sounds good."

Jeffery hugged her back, and, still holding him, she leaned back and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye," she said, letting go of him and walking into her doorway, closing the door quietly. "Put on some band-aids!" He could hear from outside.

Jeffery stood there, woozy. "Buh..bye..."

She closed the door, and Jeffery turned towards home, his eyes wide.

-

-

He went to take his first step and fell flat on his face.

-

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-

-

"EWW! How dare you, Shredder, to do such things with fictional characters!"

I know that's what you're all thinking. And you have a point, it IS kind of weird.

But hey, I don't really care. I'm trying to progress the story some, and I honestly think this will have great affect on it later on in the future!

But thank you for reading, anyone! Please tell me how you liked it.

-The Shredder


	6. How To Have A Bad Day

**_Sorry about the HUGE wait, everyone, I've had three other inspirations that led me astray from my beloved first fic._**

**_Enjoy!_**

-

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**Brzzt**._ "There's no-"_ **Crrk.** _"one like you-"_ **Prkft.**

**_-_**

Jeffery had struggled to pick himself up the previous night, due to his visit with Jade. His feelings made him numb, and all sorts of emotions swirled through his body and mind. She had kissed him, plain and simple. The new feelings he felt were extravagant-and terrifying.

"Ugh...Why do you have to do that?"

He looked at the tape deck, which died a few seconds later.

Jeffery flopped back down on his bed, his head dizzy. He yawned.

Trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach, he sat himself up and stretched. He pulled out a change of clothes and a towel from his new drawer and headed down to the river, where he tried to be sly about stripping down to his undies and jumping into the brisk water. He washed up quickly, and after drying himself off and changing, walked back up to his house.

"I SAID shut your trap!"

Wolfgang's voice could be heard up the hill, towards Jeffery's house. Jeffery jumped, startled. He scrambled up the hill and peeked around a tree to see what kind of trouble the tenacious duo were causing now.

"Whatever, Mr. Jealous," Hopper shot at Wolfgang, shaking a colored can. "Not my fault you can't control your raging hormones," Hopper mocked, laughing.

Wolfgang's eye twitched and he threw his paws around Hopper's throat.

"YOU STUPID FEATHERHEAD! Why I oughta-" Hopper's gags drowned out Wolfgang's threats.

"Bah. Useless." Wolfgang threw Hopper down onto the concrete. "Just shuddap and help me already."

Hopper growled and picked up the can, shaking it again.

Jeffery looked at them worriedly. What were they trying to pull?

"This'll teach the little jerk..." Wolfgang muttered and pulled out a can of his own. With a quick shake, Wolfgang sprayed pink paint all over Jeffery's door.

Jeffery gasped. "Hey!!! Eep!"

Jeffery threw his hands over his mouth. What was he supposed to do? Run up to them and tell them to stop? Tell them it's the wrong thing and get his butt kicked yet again?

"Now!!"

There were whizzing sounds above Jeffery's head as three slingshots appeared from the branches above. Three big rocks pelted Wolfgang suddenly, all of them hitting the side of his snout.

"YEEEEOWCH!!!!! What the???"

"Again! Attack!"

Jeffery looked up to see Adam, Eddie, and Goose angrily shooting rocks at Wolfgang and Hopper.

"OW! What are you- Stop it! ARGH!"

The whole scene lasted about 10 seconds. Adam and Goose continued to pelt the retreating Wolfgang and Hopper with more rocks, while Eddie stayed behind to talk to Jeffery.

Confused, Jeffery asked what was going on.

"Big Brother and Hopper spraypaint on everyone's house," Eddie explained, pointing out pink doors all around the neighborhood.

Goose and Adam leapt out of the tree they were attacking from. "Supposedly ol' Wolfie's mad about somethin'," Goose told Jeffery.

"But why would he do this to everyone?" Jeffery asked.

"If one person makes him mad, he blames it on everybody," Adam said. "Natural wolf nature, if you ask me."

Jeffery looked down. "Well why is he mad? Anyone know?"

Eddie hopped up and down a few times. "Ooh, ooh, uh...I think something 'bout...girl?"

Jeffery, thinking quickly for once, pulled out his map Tom Nook had given him, and he studied it quickly. "Hmm...says here there are only 2 girls in town. Jade and some other girl..." There was a drink stain on the map where the other girl's name was.

"Oh, uh...whatsername..." Goose stuttered.

"Hmm," Adam thought. "I know she went on a trip somewhere. I guess everyone forgot about her."

"So that must mean he's mad about Jade," Goose said. "But we all know she hates his guts. So why...?"

Jeffery quickly buried his red face in his map.

"What do you think, Jeffery?" Adam asked.

"Ack! Uh..."

Jeffery was definitely caught with his pants down this time. He didn't want to tell anyone what happened yesterday! He'd rather chop his arm off.

"Uh..I..uh, have no idea um..."

"I see Jeffery walk with Jade!" Eddie blurted out, making Jeffery jump.

"I don't understand though," Goose concocted, scratching his chin feathers. "If Jeffery was walking with Jade, why would that give Wolfgang any reason to be mad? I mean I take walks with all of my pals every now and then and not once has some angry wolf boy complained about it."

Everyone, except Jeffery of course, was into deep thought.

"W-W-Well uh, I sure have NO idea," Jeffery stated, out of breath. "Jade and I were just um...discussing my new er...interior..decorating." He finished off the sentence quietly.

Adam shrugged. "As long as he isn't terrorizing us for some dumb personal problem, I'm alright." He stretched his arms behind the back of his head.

"I reckon we better get to followin' him," Goose told Adam and Eddie, holstering his slingshot. "It'd be best not to let those two wreak some more havoc."

Goose and Adam began to walk towards the D-acres, strategizing some clever plan. Eddie trailed, looking at Jeffery. "Jeffery be okay?"

Jeffery smiled, and patted Eddie's head. "Uh, yeah. I'll be fine."

Eddie readjusted his brown beanie and walked off. "We take care of Brother!" he called, waving back. Jeffery waved back, smiling weakly. As soon as they were out of sight, he scrambled for his house. He slammed the door, locked it, and started to bite his fingernails nervously.

_Oh NO! They're on to me..._Jeffery thought. _Soon they'll find out I'M the reason Wolfgang is mad! But wait...if Wolfgang is mad, he's probably jealous...and if I made someone jealous, then that means..._

"I'm significant!" Jeffery jumped happily.

-

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-

Jeffery had almost completely forgotten he had work today, and Nook wasn't too pleased. The raccoon suspected something when Jeffery ran in the door half-naked and covered in dirt. So, Jeffery had twice as many deliveries today.

Jeffery snorted on the way out of the shop, his arms bursting with deliveries. Nook had agreed to let Jeffery use the store's transportation (a rugged bicycle) for today. He hopped on, dropping most of the deliveries right off the bat, but eventually set off.

He pedaled through the bright forest path, the wind wrapping around him elegantly like the warm embrace of a soft tortilla from a cheap taco stand on a hot summer day. It sort of cheered him up, and before he knew it, Jeffery had a smile on his face. It felt good to let loose and just enjoy the sunshine of the day. The cool air, the wonderful scenes and smells, the rugged vibrations, and the pain from the sharp rocks digging into Jeffery's chest.

Wait, what?

Jeffery groaned, lifting his face up from the dirt. He had drove the bike through a hole in the path and now the deliveries were scattered everywhere. The bike lay in a scrambled mess in the grass just off the path.

"Aww...Shucks."

Jeffery dusted himself off quickly and gathered all the parcels together. He remembered why he couldn't enjoy days like this. He had to watch himself more closely.

He sighed and counted the parcels. "Let's see, 1, 2, 3...8...okay, that should be..wait a sec..."

He was missing one important item. Where could it be?

He looked at the ground. Grass, dirt, bugs...nothing brightly colored or fancily wrapped. Jeffery tried to retrace his tracks, walking backwards to where he crashed. Upon further inspection-

"Ah-Ha!"

A bright orange gift was sitting alone on the bank of the creek. Jeffery, feeling like he had just solved a mystery, went to go pick it up. But his luck rang in again and he tripped right over it, faliing into the brisk water. The chill of the water shocked him, and he cursed incoherently, bubbles shooting out of his mouth. He rose to the surface, and crawled up onto the shore. He sputtered, and then searched for the gift.

_Oh no! It was just here a second ago!_

Jeffery looked around frantically to spot the orange gift drifting downstream. Jeffery fell to his knees, shaking his fists and cursing the heavens, and then dove in after it.

The water was especially cold today, and the current was swift. The orange parcel seemed to get smaller and smaller every time Jeffery thought he was getting closer.

_Gah! Stop...moving! _Jeffery thought as he sawn donwstream.

The parcel then disappeared from sight. At first Jeffery thought it had sunk, but then he realized the truth a little bit too late.

"WHOAAA!" The roar of the falls drowned out Jeffery's cries as the stream threw him over.

-

-

The train was buckling along at a slow pace, rocking Rover to sleep. He was almost snoozing when the conductor announced something over the speakers.

"And to the right is the lovely Darsinae Forest, where you can now see the town idiot careening over the edge of that magnificent waterfall! Look at that rainbow, folks!"

Rover snapped to attention and pressed his snout to the window. He could see a small figure garbed in a yellow paw shirt tumbling over the edge of the falls, screaming its little heart out.

"Jeffery?"

-

-

Jeffery practically witnessed himself fly out from the stream.

_Don't look down, don't look down..._

Jeffery looked down. The water below him was just a great white mist.

"Oh NO!!!"

Jeffery flapped his arms in a daring attempt to save himself, but the waterfall overcame him, and he plummeted to the water below.

Time seemed to stop. Even while screaming and flapping his arms wildly, he noticed everything around him kind of slow down. The waterfall seemed to make a face and laugh at him, mocking his stupidity.

Life came back at him hard a few moments later.

Jeffery landed square on his back, the stinging reaching him instantly. He moaned and groaned and groped at his back in pain. Millions of white-hot knives seemed to dig into him all at once. He twisted around in the water, just hoping it would stop the stinging.

Jeffery thrashed up on shore a few moments later, his back still on fire. He cringed and moaned, and after a few more painstaking moments, the pain began to erode. Jeffery layed back on the cool sand, sighing in relief.

"Whoa there, whippersnapper!"

Jeffery opened his eyes to see an extremely aged turtle wag his cane at him.

"Er, I'm Jeffery...sir," Jeffery added.

The turtle eyed him warily, the bags under his eyes crinkling every which way. "Can I ask ya a question, sonny?"

"Yes...?"

"Are ya stupid?"

Jeffery scratched his head. "I uh, um..."

"It takes one heck of an idiot to jump off them falls, boy. Why'd ya do it? You coulda got yerself kilt!"

Jeffery looked up at the falls, and then remembered why he had fallen off them in the first place.

"Oh no! Uh, sorry sir, I gotta-"

"Now wait just a dern minute! I wasn't finished talkin' to ya." The turtle wove his cane at him.

Jeffery started jogging off. "I can't talk! I gotta work!"

"I reckon you wouldn't git very far without this!" The turtle shouted at him.

Jeffery spun on his heel and found the old coot was holding the orange gift. Jeffery ran back to him.

"Now that's what I thought," the turtle chuckled. "Now whatcha need this perdy thing fer, sonny?"

"I need to deliver that to someone! Like right now! So if you could just uh, hand it over..." Jeffery reached for the gift.

The turtle held it away from him. "Oh, yer workin' for Nook, are yeh? Well, I'll let ya go-"

_'Bout time! _Jeffery thought.

"If ya answer me a question first."

Jeffery groaned angrily. "Fine, fine, what is it?"

The turtle cleared his throat. "Er-hem, now, who do you respect the most? Yer mama, daddy, grandma or granddad?"

Jeffery let his mouth hinge off his jaw. Here he was, getting interrogated by some old bag when he really needed to get that gift back. Quickly, Jeffery though up a random answer.

"Uh, grandpa, I don't know...Can I have my gift back now?"

The turtle sighed, but was smiling happily. "Good ta know some of the youth out there ain't spoiled. Here ya go sonny." The turtle tossed him the gift, and Jeffery caught it(surprisingly).

Without further ado, Jeffery took off. He rounded the hill that went up to the forest path, and rushed to make his way back to the bike and other gifts. A few minutes later, Jeffery panted to his previous location. He gathered up all of the gifts lying on the ground, and went to go stuff them on the bike. But there was something wrong.

The old bike was beyond repair, various pieces of it scattered about. The tires were flat, the spokes were broken, and the seat was nowhere to be found.

Jeffery dropped to his knees, dropping all the gifts to the ground. He was shocked, speechless. There was no hope of him finishing his work on time. Nook was going to fire him, and then he'd have no way to pay his house off, and then...

"I'd be homeless," Jeffery said quietly.

He sniffled a little bit, and then started to gather up the gifts again. He then made his way down the hill, to a gift recipient's house.

---

---

The sun had began to sink low in the sky, filling the town of Darsinae with a mellow gold. Sunlight filled Jeffery's back with shame as he moped into Nook's acre.

The raccoon was sweeping the front walk when Jeffery walked up. Nook dropped his broom, and gazed at Jeffery.

"Jeffery?" Nook questioned.

"..Yes sir?"

"Where have you been?"

"Making the deliveries."

"What took you so long? And where is the bike?"

Jeffery sighed and then began his story. He explained how he was driving along when he crashed and one of the gifts fell into the river, and how he chased after it and fel down the waterfall. Nook's face remained emotionless as Jeffery spoke. Jeffery then acted out his run-in with the old turtle, and how he held him up. Then he told Nook when he went back to the bike and it layed there, destroyed.

"So I had to make all of the deliviries on foot. I'm really sorry sir. Please forgive me."

Nook didn't seem mad at all, actually. "So you got to meet the mayor, eh?" Nook chuckled. "You did tell him 'grandpa' when he asked you the quesion, right?"

Amazed, Jeffery nodded. Nook laughed.

"Well it's a good thing you did! Otherwise you would've been there ALL day and you'd have some REAL explaining to do! Ho ho ho!"

Jeffery's shoulders were relieved of a great weight and a smile crept on his face. Nook wasn't mad!

Nook laughed off the rest of the giggles and patted Jeffery on the back. "At least you got the job done. Don't worry about the bicycle, I was meaning to throw it out anyway."

Jeffery nodded, and waved to his employer as he walked home. "Thanks Mr. Nook! See you tomorrow!"

Nook waved back. "Ah, just take the day off, boy!"

Jeffery smiled and trodded home. "Awesome!"

-

-

The sun was just peeking over the edge of the horizon, skimming the last of its daylight over the open blue waves. Jeffery could see a few townsfolk walking along the shore.

The cobblestone rattled under Jeffery's feet as he walked into his acre. He walked up to his house, and opened up the door. It sure was satisying to Jeffery to finish off the day with a nice house to come to. That made him think of Jade a little bit, which brought up the whole Wolfgang dilemma. Jeffery decided to save it for another day, and he went to shut the door behind him. Except the door didn't stay closed, and on his front walk a familiar blue feline stood, looking in.

"...Rover?"

* * *

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**_It's been so long since I updated this last, I'm glad I fianlly got around to it. Sorry about the long wait, I really hoped you liked this chapter._**

**_R&R, let me know how I'm doing!_**

**_-Much thanks,_**

**_-SOTR_**


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